Boredom as the Modern Condition

Abstract

This article discusses the centrality of boredom for the constitution of the modern subject as its proprium. It distinguishes between three forms of boredom: that of indeterminate duration –boredom as same without other; that of repetition – boredom as other without same; and that of self-abdication – boredom as the rupture of same and other. The discussion then turns to Siegfried Kracauer’s reflections on boredom, in which he identifies and explores its inherent paradoxes. By contrasting everyday boredom with radical one, Kracauer argues that radical boredom opens an entirely new horizon of thought and action that might allow us to stand up to the social and political challenges of modern times.